IAF Jaguar fighter aircraft crashes in UP

Mau (UP): A Jaguar fighter aircraft on Thursday
crashed in Dilahi Firozpur village in this district, killing
its pilot and a girl working in a field, the second IAF plane
to meet with an accident this week.
The single-seater plane of the IAF burst into flames
soon after the crash, DIG, Azamgarh range, L.Ravikumar said.

The pilot and a girl working in a field were killed in
the accident, he said.

The Jaguar, a deep penetration strike aircraft, had
taken off from Gorakhpur airbase in UP, IAF sources said in
Delhi.

On Tuesday, a MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed while
landing at Naal airfield in Rajasthan`s Bikaner district,
killing the pilot.

On February 4, a MiG-21 `Bison` fighter plane had
crashed apparently due to an engine problem while on a routine
sortie in Madhya Pradesh`s Sheopur district but the pilot had
ejected safely.

In 2010, a total of 10 IAF aircraft crashes took place
including four MiG-27 and two MiG-21 planes.
Defence Minister A K Antony had said in Lok Sabha
on Monday that 24 fighter aircraft accidents have taken place
in the last three years, in which four service personnel and
five civilians lost their lives.

Of these accidents, 23 per cent were due to human
error, according to him.